Re: [Aroid-l] Amorph titanum flowering in Sydney, Australia

From: "Alistair Hay" <ajmhay at hotmail.com> on 2004.10.11 at 00:38:40(12277) Hi Julius, I guess Wilbert is the person to know to what extent smaller than normal Amorphophallus blooms are female-sterile, though I have certainly seen small paeoniifolius, bulbifer, variabilis and galbra producing fruits. This titanum had normal-looking pistils, but one of our illustrators is doing a botanical painting including dissections and I will ask her to look out for whether or not there are functional-looking ovules. +More A ----- Original Message ----- From: Julius Boos To: aroid-l@gizmoworks.com Sent: Sunday, October 10, 2004 10:37 PM Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] Amorph titanum flowering in Sydney, Australia >From: "Alistair Hay" >Reply-To: Discussion of aroids >To: "Discussion of aroids" >Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] Amorph titanum flowering in Sydney, Australia >Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2004 11:52:09 +1000 > Dear Alistair, Thanks for the information and congrats on getting any size of a bloom! I read where the spadix collapsed a very short time after it opened, I wonder if this is not another sign of something I have been observing in aroids in many species over many years. I have suggested that many Aroids (the genus Arisaema has taken this to the ultimate) will produce a smaller than usual bloom that, though it may have female flowers (in Arisaema the female flowers are NOT produced) , is never intended and in fact can and does not produce fruit/seed, the small bloom only contributes pollen to the genitic 'trail'. This might occur when a plant 'senses' that it is stressed (too many growing seasons without a tuber large enough to sustain the development of fruit/seed) or is growing in a site less-then-optimum to producing a large tuber which is able to sustain the length of time necessary for fruit/seed production.&nbs p; I was wiondering if some dissections could possibly be done to the remains of the female flowers on this or future small blooms to see if all the necessary parts are there which might indicate if these female flowers could ever develop seed. Just food for thought. Good Growing! Julius >Hi Julius, > >It was a baby at 1.33 metres. And yes its a sibling of many that have flowered much earlier in the US and Europe. > >I attribute the long delay in getting ours to flower to the psychological trauma caused by the idea of applying NPK in the necessary quantities - most Australian plants are killed by even 'normal' quantities of these elements, especially Phosphorus. > >Eventually the horticultural staff who look after our TAs rose to my challenge to kill a subset of our holdings by overfeeding! The result was pots toppling over as they bulged with swelling tubers, and one (at 15.5 kg) producing a flower. > >Alistair > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Julius Boos > To: aroid-l@gizmoworks.com > Sent: Friday, October 08, 2004 10:07 AM > Subject: RE: [Aroid-l] Amorph titanum flowering in Sydney, Australia > > > > > > > >From: Paul Tyerman > >Reply-To: Discussion of aroids > >To: Discussion of aroids > >Subject: [Aroid-l] Amorph titanum flowering in Sydney, Australia > >Date: Fri, 08 Oct 2004 08:55:40 +1000 > > > Dear Paul, > > Thanks for sharing this news with us! A happy event indeed. Perhaps Dr. Hay (if he reads thsi) may be so kind as to try to determine from wence this plant came, if by chance from a Jim Symon seed collection? I`m sorry that you missed seeing this amazing bloom. Any details as to how tall the bloom was, etc.?? > > The Best, > > Julius Boos > > WPB, FLORIDA > > >Howdy All, > > > > >I found out on the news last night that Amorphophallus titanum is > >currently in flower in the Tropical House at the Botanic Gardens in > >Sydney, Australia. I thought I'd inform the group in case there was > >anyone who was in Sydney who didn't know about it and wanted to see > >it. > > > >If I'd known about it being about to open I would have arranged to > >get up there to see it, but unfortunately it only appeared on the > >news last night already in flower and I couldn't just drop > >everything to get up there and see it today. Most frustrating as i > >definitely would have got up there if I'd known. > > > >Hopefully all of those on this list in the Sydney region interested > >in Amorphs will get a chance to view it as it is only the second > >time there has ever been a flowering in Australia I have been told. > >Last night the Botanic Gardens remained open until midnight to allow > >people to view it. I'd imagine if still open this evening the same > >will likely apply. > > > >Cheers. > > > >Paul Tyerman > >Canberra, Australia (a few hours south of Sydney unfortunately) > > > >_______________________________________________ > >Aroid-l mailing list > >Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com > >http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > _______________________________________________ > Aroid-l mailing list > Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com > http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l >_______________________________________________ >Aroid-l mailing list >Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com >http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l _______________________________________________Aroid-l mailing listAroid-l@gizmoworks.comhttp://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l _______________________________________________ Aroid-l mailing list Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

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